Owl Pal
by septasonicxx
Summary: To create more house unity Dumbledore brings in the Owl Pal system. Every student must write to their Owl Pal once a week. Add in a love potion, Ravenclaw's acting like Gryffindors, general craziness and what do you get?
1. Chapter 1

"They're really going to do that, are they?" Jenna growled. "Making us write letters to people we don't even know? That's insane!"

"I don't have a clue how this Owl Pal system is going to work either," Elizabeth replied to her friend, swinging her book bag onto her shoulder. "But we'll have to do it or get detention."

That morning at breakfast Dumbledore had announced that, in order to branch out and help the students befriend others in their year who were in different houses, their names would be picked at random and put with someone else's who would then be their 'Owl Pal'. They would be required to send at least one letter each week to their Owl Pal to ensure that communication was happening.

But there was a catch. They weren't allowed to tell their Owl Pal their real name or what house they were in. The secrecy would be lots of fun.

At least, that's what Dumbledore said.

"I hope I don't get someone stupid, and especially not a _Slytherin_." Jenna sighed and turned to the door, pausing with her hand on the handle. "Come on, Liz."

Elizabeth muttered a 'coming' and zipped up her bag, following after her friend as they made their way down to their first class of the day, which was Herbology.

"Honestly, why did I pick this class again?" Jenna asked as they entered the greenhouse. Liz smiled and shrugged, moving over to where the plants she was growing were sitting in their pots on a bench.

"You ask me that every time we come and I'm not going to give you the reason." Elizabeth laughed.

"Fine, then I'll say it _again_," Jenna laughed. "It's because _Neville_ does Herbology. And he loves it. Oh yeah, and you're my best friend so I'd be lonely if I chose anything else."

"Honestly, sometimes you can be so shallow." Elizabeth smiled.

"Eep!" Jenna said, suddenly ducking behind one of her plants. Elizabeth grinned and turned around to see where Neville had entered the room, a plant in his arms.

He loved his plants so much.

"Maybe he'll be your Owl Pal." she shrugged.

"Liz, you're a genius! All I have to do is suck up to Dumbledore a bit, mention how I'm great friends with... _him_... and he'll end up as my Owl Pal!" Jenna said ecstatically.

"That plan is going to take a bit more than wishful thinking." Liz replied thoughtfully. "And when are you going to suck up to him anyway? He said it would all be sorted out by lunch time."

"I'll just have to skip Defence." Jenna shrugged, standing up straight again as Neville reached the back of the greenhouse.

"Skip Defence? Are you a lunatic?" Liz exclaimed.

"Come off it, Snape isn't going to care." Jenna said pointedly.

"Jen! You're threatening to leave me alone in a class which we have with Gryffindor!" Liz protested still.

"Oh, of course. I should have known that was why you were upset." Jen grinned cheekily and Liz raised an eyebrow in warning.

"I don't think you should say a word more." Liz said, folding her arms.

"Really? Well I think you should get over your grudge against Granger. It's not _her_ fault she's smarter than you." Jen snickered at the look of annoyance on Liz's face.

"She should at least give some other people a chance at being top of the class every now and again!" Liz snapped. "I get so mad every time we have class with her because I feel like I'm competing to make the Professor notice how talented I am."

"Oh, fine. I'll go to Defence _only_ so that I can stop you from your urges to strangle her when she raises her hand." Jen laughed.

"Right, good." Liz said shortly, turning back to her plants and picking up the watering can which was on the bench beside them.

"Anyway, you don't think they'll pair us with Slytherins for the Owl Pal thing, do you?" Jen asked, changing the conversation back to where it had begun. Liz shrugged.

"It's supposed to be random, isn't it?" she asked.

"Well yeah, but you never know..." Jen sighed, leaning back against the bench and watching Neville as he pampered his plants happily.

"I'm really not worried, to tell you the truth." Liz said with a small sigh, rolling up her sleeves. "As long as I'm not paired with _you_..."

"Hey!"

Liz laughed and Jen threw dirt at her, the two girls now thoroughly enjoying themselves. The Owl Pal system couldn't be _too_ bad.

*

When lunch came, Dumbledore called for everyone to assemble in the Great Hall and silenced them all, holding his hands up before lowering them again.

"You will each be given a number, and that number will be the number of the person who you will be sending letters to. This is so that you don't find out their name in the process." Dumbledore waved a hand and magical numbers floated down in front of each person. "I advise you to memorise it properly before you leave this room. If you do forget it, however, any of your Professor's will be able to remind you if you ask them. Now, enjoy your lunch!"

"Ninety-three... ninety-three..." Jen was muttering over and over, staring at the number hovering in the air in front of her face.

Liz smiled and pulled a quill out of her bag, along with a small inkwell, and dipped the quill in before writing the number '7' on the inside of the flap on her bag. She'd never forget it now. And thankfully ink was horrible at staining material.

When the two girls went to their dormitory after eating, Liz immediately pulled out some parchment and started writing a letter to her Owl Pal. She was curious to find out about this person and figured that there was no better time than the present.

_Dear Owl Pal,_

_This whole system is interesting, don't you think? It's also a bit strange, I'll admit, but I'm willing to give it a go and see what happens. I wish I could tell you what house I'm in, but apparently detentions will be given out to people who do._

_I don't particularly want to go on calling you 'Owl Pal' the whole time, so what should I call you? And I suppose I should think up a name for myself as well. A secret name, one which only you refer to me as._

_Alright, I give in. I really am excited about this._

_So, what name can I give myself?_

_What about Spark?_

_I hope to talk to you again soon,_

_From Spark_

"There." Liz said, standing up and folding the parchment. "I hope they don't take too long in replying."

"You've already written a letter? Merlin, you're insane." Jen shook her head and flopped onto her bed and Liz just smiled and walked over to her owl, giving it the letter and instructing it to give the letter to '7', as that was all she knew her Owl Pal as so far.

She was wondering what she would do if her owl had no idea where to go, when her owl leapt off her hand confidently and flew out the window.


	2. Chapter 2

"Liz! Wake up!"

Liz rolled over in her bed and groaned, trying to ignore the persistent voice of Jen, who always woke her up in the morning.

"Seriously, Liz! I have important news!" Jen continued, reaching over and shaking her friend.

"What is it?" Liz mumbled, refusing to open her eyes.

"I'm going to ask Neville out!" Jen squeaked.

That got Liz's eyes open in a flash and she stared over at Jen in shock. It took a while for her to come to the conclusion that she hadn't dreamt that and she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Are you serious?" she asked, yawning.

"Yes!" Jen said, now bouncing up and down on the spot. "I've decided I'll catch him after breakfast and just ask him straight out."

"Wow, you should've been put in Gryffindor. You're acting really brave." Liz commented, now rubbing her eyes to try and wake up more.

"Come on Liz, hurry up and get out of bed so we can go down to breakfast." Jen said, yanking the covers off her friend. Liz squealed as she was exposed to the cold air and she pouted, folding her arms.

"You're a horrible person."

"Yeah, I know."

"Go away."

"Nope. Not until you're up. Oh, and you got a letter from your Owl Pal, too." Jen said, going over to the table at the side of the room and picking up a letter, taking it over and handing it to Liz, who was now really enthusiastic.

"I was hoping they'd reply soon!" she said happily, quickly unfolding the letter and reading what it said.

_To Spark,_

_Just like you, I'm also interested in this system. Cool name, by the way. Is there a particular reason why you chose it for yourself?_

_Anyway, I don't really know what to say. But are you a girl or a guy? I'm a guy, so I was just wondering. I think you're a girl because of the name you chose, but a guy could have chosen that too, so I guess I really have no idea._

_Um, you can call me... Cotton? Sorry if it's a bit lame, but I couldn't think of anything else and my pyjama's are made of cotton so... well you probably don't care. Sorry._

_I hope this was a fast enough reply. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better._

_Cotton._

"He's so cute!" Liz exclaimed.

"What? He sent a photo?" Jen gasped, moving over to look.

"No, but the way he talks is just cute!" Liz said, folding the letter again. "He seemed a bit nervous, actually."

"Thrilling. Hurry up and get dressed!" Jen whined, pushing Liz's uniform onto her lap. Liz laughed and rolled her eyes, picking up her clothes and going to the bathroom in order to get changed.

It wasn't long before she had finished and come back out, moving over to the table to write a reply to her Owl Pal.

"_Liz_!" Jen exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"I won't be long!" Liz shot back, quickly writing something down.

_Cotton,_

_Just so that you know, you were right in thinking I'm a girl. I'm sorry I didn't tell you in my first letter, but it just slipped my mind. I have to get down to breakfast now because my best friend is going to murder me if I don't, and then I won't have much time to reply since I've got classes. So you can choose to reply right away or wait until this afternoon, I don't mind._

_Ha, interesting way of choosing a name for yourself! I chose Spark because my mum used to call me a bright spark when I was little and it just entered my mind again when I was trying to decide on a name._

_If you ever want to say anything random (for example, something about your pyjama's, haha) then feel free to._

_Ah, gotta go! My best friend is threatening to tear up this letter!_

_Spark_

"It's about time!" Jen exclaimed as Liz moved over to give the letter to her owl, sending it out with the instructions of 'take it to 7, Cotton'. She hoped her owl would soon learn that '7' was also 'Cotton' and she could stop calling her Owl Pal by a number.

"Alright, Jen, let's go get your love life moving." Liz teased, following her out of the dorm and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Sitting at the Ravenclaw table, the two friends eagerly started eating and talking about what they were going to do that day. Liz reminded Jen that she would need to send a letter to her Owl Pal soon or she would get a detention, and Jen quickly swerved the conversation to how adorable Neville looked that morning.

"Your attraction to shy boys is amusing." Liz said with a giggle.

"Shut up."

"But it is!"

"He's forgotten something!"

"What?" Liz looked over at Neville and sighed when she saw that he was holding his remembrall in his hand and frowning in confusion. "And _you've_ forgotten your brain this morning." she mumbled.

"Do you think he needs help?"

"Concentrate on what you're going to say after breakfast." Liz reminded her.

"Eep!" Jen exclaimed.

"Yeah, 'cause he'll know you're asking him out if you say 'eep'." Liz laughed. Her eyes moved from Neville to his friends and she watched in amusement for a moment as Seamus tried to perform a spell with his wand.

It wasn't working.

It wasn't long before Harry realised what Seamus was trying to do and quickly tried to stop him, causing a lot of people around them to laugh. Seamus seemed put out that no one believed he could succeed in doing the spell right and therefore became stubborn, refusing to stop – until, of course, Hermione stepped in and firmly told him to stop being careless.

"Gryffindor looks fun." Liz said with a smile.

"Imagine if Neville and I start dating!" Jen said. "We'll be able to hang out with them all the time!"

"That would definitely be a conversation starter!" Liz joked, earning a hit in the arm from Jen.

"Be serious, Liz, he's the love of my life." Jen said firmly.

"Alright, I'll be serious."

"Really?"

"Not any more. The moments gone."

"_Liz_!" Jen whined again, folding her arms in annoyance.

"Oh come on, you know you love me."

"Of course I do, I just wish you could be a bit more sensitive about my love." Jen replied solemnly, blinking her eyes sadly.

"Stop being a drama queen and I'll consider it."

Jen smiled sweetly and nodded, going back to eating and doing her best not to act overly dramatic in any way.

"Do you want to go and sit with them?"

"_You said you were going to be serious if I stopped being dramatic!_" Jen squealed.

"I was being serious! If we sit with them you'll have more of a chance of being able to ask him when their group leaves the Great Hall." Liz explained. Jen was quiet for a moment as she thought about her friends suggestion and then she smiled.

"Alright, let's go."

Liz grinned and followed Jen as they made their way to the Gryffindor table, sitting down close to Neville.

"Hey!" Liz greeted them. "Is it alright if we sit here? We've really thought hard about branching out and making friends in other houses."

"That's fine!" Hermione replied, smiling at her. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Hermione Granger."

"Elizabeth Teppett, but you can call me Liz. And this is Jenna Fanelli, Jen." Liz introduced herself and Jen. "We have Defence Against the Dark Arts together." she added.

"Oh, yeah!" Hermione nodded. "You're really good at that subject."

"Thanks." Liz grinned, feeling proud of herself.

Come on, _Hermione_ had just complemented _her_!

"Well, this is Neville, Seamus, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Lavender." Hermione said, indicating each person as she said their name. They all murmured hello's and then went back to eating, being silent for a few moments.

"What do you two think of the Owl Pal system?" Ginny asked curiously between mouthfuls of food.

"Bleh." Jen said instantly.

"I think it's interesting." Liz said truthfully, smiling.

"Well, Ron and Harry think it's interesting too. They've already been writing to their Owl Pals and Ron is just about addicted!" Ginny laughed.

"Oh, shut up." Ron mumbled, his face going red in embarrassment.

"Is your Owl Pal a girl or a guy?" Liz asked Ron and Harry looked up, interested.

"Girl." Ron mumbled, his face going a shade darker.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they started dating in the end!" Ginny exclaimed, reaching over to nudge Ron teasingly.

"Shut up!" Ron said, firmer than before.

"Yeah, Ginny, what about your Owl Pal? I heard it's a guy." Harry said with a grin.

"And he's charming!" Ginny nodded. "A lot better than any of _you_ lot any way." She giggled then and she and Hermione smiled at each other.

"I haven't written to my Owl Pal yet, I don't see the point." Jen shrugged. "But Liz has pretty much been addicted as well."

"Maybe she's Ron's Owl Pal!" Ginny exclaimed shrilly, bursting into more laughter.

Liz smiled and looked down at her food, thinking about that seriously. Ron had been already sending letters to his Owl Pal, and he had also said that it was a girl. Could it be her?

"I don't think so." Ron said, shaking his head. "My Owl Pal's got black hair."

Liz tugged absently at one of her brown curls, wondering why she was relieved to know Ron wasn't her Owl Pal.

"Maybe it's Cho!" Ginny exclaimed, turning to look over her shoulder at where Cho was sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

"Cut it out, Gin," Harry laughed. "Give the poor guy a break."

"Yeah," Ron said with a nod. "Give me a break."

"Where would you like it, Won-Won?" Ginny asked, batting her eyelids at him and imitating Lavender, who scowled from where she sat.

"Don't be stupid." Ron laughed, rolling his eyes and turning back to his food.

"So Neville," Liz said. "Have you written to your Owl Pal yet?"

Neville looked up from his food and shook his head.

"I don't know what so say." he shrugged.

"That's so cute." Jen whispered and Liz trod on her foot under the table to make her shut up.

"I didn't know what to say when I sent the first letter, either, but the words sort of come when you start writing." Liz shrugged. Neville nodded thoughtfully and continued eating.

"So you sent the first letter to your Owl Pal?" Harry asked and Liz nodded.

"I figured I'd take the initiative." she grinned.

"Cool." Harry said, looking down again.

"Well come on, we'd better go or we'll be late to class." Hermione said, beginning to stand up.

"We've got ages, 'Mione!" Ron whined.

"No we don't, Ronald." Hermione said firmly, turning and heading for the door.

"Oh, Merlin." Ron sighed.

"Ronald? Your full name is Ronald?" Liz asked with a giggle.

"Oh, shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

"Follow him, you idiot!" Liz hissed as Neville began making his way out of the Great Hall. Jen nodded silently and quickly stood, following after him.

"Is she okay?" Ginny asked, moving over to walk with Liz as she left the Great Hall at a much slower pace.

"Yeah, she's fine." Liz smiled.

"Well, alright." Ginny raised her eyebrows curiously but didn't say anything else, knowing it might not be her place.

"Hey, Liz?" Ron stepped up beside her. "Do you think you could ask around and find out what you know about the girls with black hair in Ravenclaw? You know, try and dig up some info about the Owl Pal stuff."

Liz laughed and rolled her eyes, folding her arms.

"'The secrecy will be lots of fun!'" she quoted Dumbledore. "I'm not going to help you find out who it is, sorry."

"But I wanna know!" Ron whined.

"What if it's someone in Slytherin?"

"Oh, Merlin help me if she is."

"That's why you're not supposed to know what house she's in. This whole system is meant to help us see past our differences and get to know a person without prejudice getting in the way." Liz explained.

"Yeah, but..." Ron sighed, obviously not having anything to say to that.

When they had made it out of the Great Hall they almost ran into Jen and Neville, who were hugging tightly.

Ginny's eyebrows raised in shock and Ron gawked. Harry just smiled at the touching scene.

"Neville!" Ron gasped. Jen and Neville quickly stepped away from each other and looked over, both blushing.

"Uh... uh..." Neville swallowed nervously.

"_We're dating!_" Jen squealed happily.

"That's great!" Ginny said, smiling.

"Congratulations," Liz said, moving forward and hugging Jen. "I knew you'd succeed."

"And now we get to hang out with their group more often!" Jen said happily.

"I'm flattered." Ginny laughed, causing Jen and Liz to turn to her again, both smiling happily.

"Now I care even less about my Owl Pal than I did before." Jen said with a laugh. "The only thing on my mind is _you_." She poked Neville in the arm and he blushed.

"We really are going to be late to class if we don't get a move on, you know." Harry reminded everyone.

"Oops!" Jen exclaimed. "Got caught up in the moment. Let's go, shall we? What do we have first?"

"Potions." Liz sighed.

"With the Hufflepuffs, how boring." Jen sighed. "I wish we had it with you Gryffindors."

"Trust me, we wish that too." Harry laughed. "We're stuck with the _Slytherins_ of all people."

"So what do you have first, Neville?" Jen asked her new boyfriend. He blushed again, obviously thinking about it.

"Transfiguration." he told her.

"Great. Well I'll see you at lunch, alright?" Jen leant up and kissed his cheek before gabbing Liz's arm and dragging her off to their dorm in order to grab their bags.

"There you go, everything worked out." Liz said.

"Yeah, it did. And he's amazing! He blushed so much when I asked him and then he couldn't stop stuttering when he tried to say yes." Jen sighed dreamily, a loopy smile on her face which strangely resembled the one which could be often seen on Luna's face.

"Right. Did you finish your Potions essay?"

"We had a _Potions essay_?" Jen exclaimed, panic on her face. Liz laughed.

"Just teasing. The Potions essay I speak of doesn't exist."

"You're horrible!"

"Payback, my friend."

"For what?"

"Waking me up this morning!"

"Oh come on, we both know you would've slept all day if I didn't."

"That doesn't excuse you."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't."

"This argument is pointless, you realise that don't you?"

"I wish I knew who my Owl Pal really was."

"Don't you _dare_ change the subject on me like that!"

Giggling, Liz ran off to Potions, leaving Jen startled for a moment before she too started running to try and catch up.

Reaching Potions, they stumbled in the door just as a Hufflepuff knocked a potion off one of the shelves and it smashed onto the floor, making a 'boom' and causing smoke to go everywhere.

"Back we go." Jen mumbled as she grabbed Liz's cloak and dragged her back through the door to get away from all the smoke. They could hear Snape yelling angrily from inside the classroom and frowned, wondering what he was doing there.

"What happened to Slughorn?" Liz asked curiously.

"No clue. But we're going to die." Jen sighed woefully.

"No we're not!" Liz said with a laugh. "Maybe Snape was just talking to Slughorn or something, or getting some ingredients he needed."

"But spare potions aren't kept in the classroom. It's only the stuff we need for the lesson."

"Then Snape and Slughorn must have been talking. Relax. I doubt Snape will be taking our class." Liz said reassuringly before leading Jen back into the recently de-smoked classroom.

"You were saying?" Jen muttered, glaring at Liz before looking back at where Snape stood at the front of the room.

"Now that I have cleared up that _tragic_ mistake," Snape was saying and his eyes flitted over to Liz and Jen momentarily before they hurriedly found some seats. "We can go on with our lesson. Before you ask, yes I am replacing Professor Slughorn for today. He seems to have come down with a nasty cold and is unable to teach at the moment. We will be working on some rather difficult potions today which will help to test your ability. The instructions are on the board. Get to work."

"We're making a love potion!" Jen squealed after a moment of contemplation.

"As if! Snape wouldn't make us do th-" Liz paused as she saw the name of the potion written above the instructions. It did indeed say 'love potion'. "Well, that's unexpected."

"This is great! We could make anyone fall in love with us for a day!" Jen grinned.

"But you're dating Neville now, what on earth would you do with a love potion?" Liz enquired curiously.

"Oh I dunno, probably give it to a first year or something. It's _hilarious_ watching them go after the people they like."

"We were once first years too, you know." Liz reminded her.

"Duh! I'm not stupid. Hey, pass me the root?" Jen held her hand out expectantly and Liz obeyed, placing the root in her friends hand before looking up at the instructions again to familiarise herself.

"Snape probably won't even let us keep any of the potion. He'll make us bottle it and hand it in, as always." Liz shrugged.

"Don't be daft," Jen giggled, glancing to where Snape was sitting at the desk at the front and then leaning close to whisper conspiratorially. "We'll bottle twice as much as we need to, hand in one bottle and keep the other."

"What if he catches us?" Liz asked, worried.

"Have we _ever_ been told not to take any of the potion for ourselves?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrows. Liz paused and then smiled, shaking her head. "Exactly."

The rest of the lesson continued normally and Liz and Jen were able to successfully finish the love potion which they were making. Jen quickly scooped some of the potion into two bottles, pocketing one and then heading up the front of the room with the other to hand it in. While she was up the front, Liz grabbed another bottle and took her own lot of the potion, slipping it into her pocket secretly.

When Jen came back, she was smiling hugely.

"What do you think would happen if someone who was already in love with someone else was given a love potion to make them in love with that person? Would they become even more infatuated or just burst from the pressure?"

Liz stared at her for a moment.

"I don't think I want to know. Promise me you won't do it to Neville?"

"Oh, fine! I hate how you can always tell what I'm planning, though." Jen pouted.

"You just spelled it all out for me!" Liz said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, there is that."

"Yes, there _is_ that, isn't there?"

"Oh well. Who will I give it to then?"

"Give it to Ron and tell him to use it on Hermione." Liz giggled.

"Oh my gosh, that's perfect!" Jen squeaked. She picked up her bag from the floor and swung it over her shoulder, grinning. "Those two have been eyeing each other for _so long_ it's not funny. I mean, we've noticed and we're not even in Gryffindor!"

"True." Liz grinned. "Maybe that way he'll stop thinking so much about his Owl Pal."

"Is that a hint? Do I need to find you a guy to stop you sending letters to your Owl Pal like crazy?" Jen joked as they left the classroom.

"No!" Liz laughed. "Besides, I've _only_ sent him two letters so far."

"Only two? It's only the second day! I haven't even sent _one_ yet." Jen folded her arms.

"Yes, and I have a feeling you're going to end up with a detention." Liz sighed melodramatically.

"You _wish_." Jen grinned and shoved Liz's shoulder.

"Come off it, I'm not _that_ mean as to wish _detention_ on you." Liz said, batting her eyelids innocently.

"And I'm in love with Snape." Jen said with a raised eyebrow.

"_Ew!_" Liz squealed, laughing and dashing off down the corridor to get away from her friend. Jen shook her head and also laughed, chasing after her.


	4. Chapter 4

When lunch came around again Jen and Liz sat at the Gryffindor table, with Jen snuggling close to Neville, who kept blushing. Ron was scribbling a reply to a letter, momentarily forgetting his food – which Hermione was shocked to see – and Harry was talking to Seamus.

Just then, owls started swooping in and dropping letters in front of people. Liz had completely forgotten about the daily mail and was surprised to see a letter fall in front of her. She smiled, taking it and opening it as the owl flew away again.

_Spark,_

_Hey! I'm guessing you got this with the daily mail? At least, I planned it to happen like that. I was busy this morning as well but I didn't want to wait until after classes._

_That doesn't sound weird, does it?_

_Anyway, your friend sounds amusing. Why was she so determined to get you down to breakfast?_

_I really wish there was a way to find out who you were without breaking any of the rules that were put in place. I don't want to get a detention, but I'm pretty sure that I'd be able to cope even if you were in Slytherin._

_Hey, wait, if we tell each other every house we're _not_ in it doesn't count as telling which we _are_ in does it? Either way, I've just accidentally eliminated one house for you. And if you're not in Slytherin either, then that's two houses down – yours, whatever it is, and Slytherin._

_Well, I hope to talk to you again soon._

_Cotton_

Liz smiled and sighed dreamily, pulling out some spare parchment and a quill, quickly writing a reply to Cotton. She wouldn't send it until later because there was something she had to do in secret first, but he would hopefully get it that day.

Then she'd find out who he was.

"Not again!" Jen whined, looking up just in time to see Liz start scribbling furiously. Liz paused and looked up, smiling and shrugging innocently.

"There's something exciting about writing to someone you don't know." Harry said, smiling. Jen rolled her eyes and turned back to Neville.

"There really is," Liz nodded in agreement. "But I just wish I knew who it was at the same time!"

"Same! Even though there's an intoxicating mystery of who she is that draws me to keep writing back, I really want to find out who she is so we can talk face to face." Harry said. Liz stared at him in shock and blinked.

"Intoxicating Mystery?" she giggled. "I never thought you were the kind of guy to talk that way."

Harry blushed slightly and ducked his head, obviously embarrassed after realising what he had said. Liz felt heart rise to her cheeks and also turned away, a small smile appearing on her lips. He was a really nice guy and so easy to talk to! Maybe she should give it a try?

Suddenly remembering she had a half written letter in her hand, she turned back to it and continued writing, trying to push Harry from her mind and think only of Cotton.

_Hey Cotton!_

_That's such a great idea! And no, I'm not in Slytherin. So now you must be in either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Oops! I guess you know what house I'm in now, right?_

_Anyway, I think I know how to find out who we are without breaking any of the rules._

_Do you trust me?_

_If you do, drink this potion tomorrow morning before breakfast._

_Spark_

Folding the letter carefully and putting it in her pocket, Liz smiled. She was going to send Cotton the love potion as well as the letter. That way, he'd fall in love with her and she would know that whoever acted lovestruck around her at breakfast the next day was Cotton. Then she would just wait for the potion to wear off before going up to talk to him to tell him that she was Spark.

"Why are you smiling like that? I know that smile. It's never good." Jen said warily.

"Trust me, this time it's good." Liz laughed.

"Well, if you say so..." Jen trailed off and closed her eyes, leaning her head on Neville's shoulder and accidentally making him turn bright red.

*

As Liz was getting ready to slip into bed that night, an owl flew in the window and dropped a letter on her pillow before flying out again.

"Eep!" Liz exclaimed excitedly, grabbing the letter.

She had sent her letter and the love potion to Cotton as soon as she got back from her classes that day and was glad that she now had a response from him. Holding the letter tightly for a few moments, she closed her eyes and hoped Cotton had agreed. Then she opened her eyes and unfolded the letter, looking down to read what it said.

_Spark,_

_I'm nervous to drink something when I don't know what it is, but I do trust you now that I know what house you're in. You must know what you're doing._

_Oh, and I'm not in Hufflepuff._

_Anyway, I agree to drink it tomorrow morning. Whatever it does, I hope I won't end up too embarrassed._

_You don't feel like telling me what you're idea is, do you? Even if you did, I probably wouldn't even get your letter until after I've drunk the potion. Well, I'll live. I'm sure it's a good plan considering your house._

_I should let you get some sleep, so I'll end this letter here._

_Love, Cotton_

Liz sat there staring at the letter. She doubted he had already drunk the potion, but why else would he say love at the end? Maybe he was just trying to be nice... but for goodness sake, why did he have to say it just after she started getting a crush on Harry?

"What's got the Owl Pal fanatic looking so depressed?" Jen asked, walking over to her own bed.

"Nothing." Liz shrugged innocently, putting the letter under her pillow and lying down.

"Liar." Jen accused immediately.

Liz sighed and frowned, biting her lip in thought. She wasn't sure what to tell Jen and what not to tell her. Jen had never been very fond of the Owl Pal system, so what would she say if Liz told her she thought she might have a crush on a guy she'd never even met?

"I don't know how to say this..." Liz murmured. "But I think I like my Owl Pal."

"No duh, you write to him like crazy. What, does he have a girlfriend or something?" Jen asked, turning on her side to look at Liz.

"No, I don't think so. But I think I also like someone else now too. And I don't know where to go with the guy I know or the guy I only write to. Do you get what I'm saying?" Liz asked. Jen was silent for a moment before she sighed.

"I guess, to be safe I'd go with the guy I know. I mean, what if you met up with your Owl Pal and thought he was ugly?" Jen asked. Liz giggled.

"I get you." she said. "Thanks."

"Are you going to tell me who you like?" Jen asked teasingly, grinning.

"You'll laugh at me!" Liz complained instantly, covering her face with her hands as she felt it go bright red.

"Oh come on, I'm dating _Neville_." Jen groaned.

"I suppose you have a point." Liz giggled. "Alright fine, I think I like Harry."

"That's so cute!" Jen squealed, sitting up and smiling over at her friend in excitement. "Definitely choose him over your Owl Pal!"

"I don't even know if he likes me back! I mean, what if he likes his Owl Pal more than me? He said it was a girl." Liz replied.

"Then you're going to just have to show him that you are _way_ better than any other girl at this school." Jen said confidently.

"This coming from the girl who was nervous asking Neville out." Liz raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever." Jen rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Seriously though, Jen," Liz said, furrowing her eyebrows again. "What am I going to do if my Owl Pal likes me? I mean, how do I tell him-"

"Think about it tomorrow." Jen sighed, rolling onto her back and staring up at the roof. "First just see how things work out with Harry, okay?"

"Yeah, you've got a point." Liz agreed, smiling and closing her eyes, attempting to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Jen almost had to drag Liz from the Ravenclaw common room the next morning to get her to go down to breakfast. Although Jen didn't know all the reasons for Liz's behaviour, she figured it probably had something to do with Harry and just left it at that.

How was she supposed to know that Liz was freaked out about learning the true identity of her Owl Pal? For goodness sake, Jen didn't even know Liz had devised a plan of how to find out!

"Stop pulling against me!" Jen snapped as she pulled Liz down a corridor towards the Great Hall.

"You don't understand! Please, I can't go to breakfast this morning!" Liz begged, _still_ pulling in the opposite direction and trying to make Jen let go of her.

"Would you relax? Even if you admitted you liked him and he didn't like you back, he'd probably be really nice about it."

"Don't say that! I don't want to think about it!" Liz whined, biting her lip.

"Sorry, thought it might help." Jen shrugged. The open doors to the Great Hall loomed up ahead and Jen started fighting harder to get Liz through them. Hopefully once they had gotten that far Liz would accept her fate and go with it.

Liz found herself suddenly hyperventilating. What would she do if her Owl Pal was someone really unattractive? How would she be able to write letters to Cotton knowing what he looked like? She definitely wouldn't want to tell him she knew who he was if he wasn't good-looking.

Liz groaned, knowing that sounded really mean.

"Here we go." Jen said triumphantly as she pulled Liz through the doors.

Thankfully Liz calmed down and allowed Jen to pull her over to the Gryffindor table without fighting any more, just as Jen had hoped would happen. They sat down across from Hermione and Ron and Liz stiffened when she realised she was sitting next to Harry.

For a strange reason which Liz didn't know, Harry had stiffened as well. His hands were clenched into fists and he was obviously clenching his jaw extremely tightly.

Taking a deep breath, Liz leant over to Jen.

"Do I smell bad?" she whispered.

"No, why?" Jen whispered back.

"Look at Harry." Liz wispered.

Jen innocently looked past Liz to Harry and frowned. Why was he acting so strange? Her thoughts would have continued but they were interrupted as Hermione spoke.

"Liz, could I swap seats with you?" Hermione asked.

Liz shot a desperate look at Jen, who just shrugged helplessly.

"Don't." Harry said suddenly, his voice sounding much deeper and strained.

"_Harry_." Hermione said warningly.

"I can't-" Harry swallowed. "I can't fight it any more."

"Harry you have to!" Hermione pleaded. "Think about something else, anything!"

"What's going on?" Jen asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I think someone slipped Harry a love potion as a joke." Hermione admitted sadly. "He's been acting dreamy all morning."

Liz choked horribly on her breath of air after Hermione spoke, gasping as she stared at Harry.

"No way!" she burst out. "It can't be you!"

Harry turned to look at her, his eyes immediately glazing over and a smile pulling his lips up. He started to lean towards her and Liz found herself frozen in shock, her eyes wide as she stared at him and watched his green eyes get closer and closer to her each moment.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, horrified.

Harry ignored her, his entire mind focussed on one thing and one thing only. He gently put a hand on the side of Liz's face and then proceeded to snog her face off.

Liz quickly put her own arms around his neck and kissed him back, happiness swelling up inside of her. She couldn't believe it. Cotton was Harry! If she wasn't currently in the middle of an amazing kiss she could have laughed at how ironic it was.

"Blimey, Harry." Ron muttered in shock.

"Well, that definitely went well." Jen said, turning to the table and grabbing some food to eat. Ron and Hermione couldn't understand how she could be so calm while her best friend snogged Harry in plain view, but they didn't spend too long thinking about it.

When Liz pushed away to catch her breath, Harry moved his lips to her neck.

"Ah, stop." Liz giggled, attempting to push him further away again. He growled as she pushed and then grabbed her hands to make her stop.

"I'm going to get Professor Slughorn." Hermione announced, standing and making her way towards the Professor's table at the front of the room.

"No!" Liz said, but Hermione was already halfway there. "This is so embarrassing."

"This bacon is really good." Jen commented after swallowing some of the said food.

"Jen! How can you be thinking of food?" Liz asked, slightly panicky as Harry began bringing his lips back up to hers.

"Quite easily." Jen shrugged.

"Food is _amazing._" Ron agreed, nodding.

"It is, isn't it?" Jen smiled. "I mean, if we didn't have food we'd die. So it's great!"

"Very true! But I can never get Hermione to understand that." Ron sighed. Jen grinned and pulled her bottle of love potion from her pocket, handing it over to him quickly.

"This is a love potion. Use it on Hermione." she whispered.

Just then, Hermione and Professor Slughorn appeared at the table.

"Ah, I see the problem." Slughorn said, seeing Harry and Liz still snogging. "Easily fixed, though." he added.

"Do you have an antidote with you, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"No, but I have some in my office. Ahem, Harry! Miss Teppett!" Slughorn tried to get their attention. "Could you two please come with me? You can kiss as we walk."

Liz somehow managed to stand up and dragged Harry along with her as she followed Professor Slughorn. As amazing at kissing Harry was, she really wanted the love potion to wear off so that they could talk normally.

It wasn't long before they reached Slughorn's office – although it felt like an eternity to Liz because Harry hadn't stopped kissing her the entire way.

"Alright, here we go. Who's the one affected by the love potion?" Slughorn asked as he picked up a bottle of antidote and turned back to them.

Liz quickly freed one of her hands so that she could point frantically at Harry.

"Well, you're going to have to get him to drink this." Slughorn said, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure how you'll be able to distract him though."

Liz felt horrible about what she was planning on doing, but she was going to do it nevertheless. So, with her lips still locked with Harry's, she kneed him in the groin.

A groan escape Harry's lips and he pulled back to catch his breath, a pained expression on his face.

"Harry," Liz said quickly, grabbing the antidote from Slughorn and pulling off the lid. "Drink this and the pain will be gone and we'll be able to keep kissing."

Instantly Harry grabbed the bottle and downed it in one gulp. He then stood there breathing heavily for a few moments before frowning in confusion and looking around.

"What- what am I doing here? What happened?" he asked. Liz went bright red as she realised he wasn't going to remember anything that had happened while he was under the influence of the love potion.

"Someone gave you a love potion, but it's okay because you've had the antidote now." Liz explained. "Come on, let's go back to the Great Hall. Thank you so much Professor."

Taking his arm, Liz led Harry from the room and began taking him back to the Great Hall. Her lips felt slightly bruised from all the kissing she had been doing and she wondered whether Harry would be feeling that as well.

"Liz..." Harry said quietly and cautiously.

"Yeah?" Liz asked, hoping she sounded innocent.

"Did I-" Harry gulped and momentarily closed his eyes. "Did I kiss you?"

Involuntarily licking her lips, Liz wondered what to say. Swallowing nervously, she managed to nod her head and cleared her throat before saying, "Yeah."

"I am _so_ sorry!" Harry said, the regret in his face making Liz want to hug him to let him know it was okay.

"Harry, it's my fault." she said instead.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, frowning.

Liz took a deep breath. "I gave you the love potion. I'm Spark."

Harry stopped walking to stare at her. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again, apparently not being able to think of the proper words. He did this again and again before finally just turning away and shaking his head in confusion.

"It was a love potion?" he finally managed to ask.

"Yeah," Liz nodded. "It worked I guess; now we know we're Owl Pals."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, staring at the ground.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked nervously.

"Sure." Liz nodded.

"I-" Harry turned to look at her, a blush colouring his cheeks attractively and making Liz smiled gently. "I like you."

"I like you too." Liz replied, her smile widening.

"I wish I could remember kissing you." Harry said quietly, going redder once he said it. Liz stepped closer to him and put a hand on his chin.

"As I recall," she murmured, bringing her face close to his. "It went something like this."

She then smashed her lips up against his and kissed him with everything she had, again twisting her arms behind his neck and smiling into the kiss when he put his arms around her waist.

When they parted to breathe, Harry smiled at her.

"That was definitely better than a memory."


	6. Chapter 6

Harry and Liz were just making their way to their first class of the day when Professor McGonagall found them and stopped them both in the corridor.

"Professor Dumbledore has asked to see you both in his office." she told them.

"Now?" Liz asked, shocked.

"Yes, now." McGonagall nodded. "He always wants you to know that he likes eucalyptus drops."

With the message delivered, Professor McGonagall left. Liz turned to Harry, a look of what-just-happened-and-what's-with-the-eucalyptus-drops on her face.

"Come on," Harry sighed, leading her to where he knew Dumbledore's office was. When they arrived, he then said, "Eucalyptus drops," and the statue began to turn, revealing staircases.

"Oh, it was a password." Liz murmured, following Harry and stepping onto the staircase. She almost lost her balance as the staircase was still moving and had to grab onto Harry to steady herself. They both blushed at the contact.

Stepping out once the staircase reached the top, Harry walked over to the doors that were there and knocked loudly, opening them once he heard a 'come in'. Liz quickened her steps to catch up with him and looked around in awe as they entered Dumbledore's office. She had never seen it before and was amazed.

"You wanted to see us Professor?" Harry asked.

"Ah, yes, I did." Dumbledore said, standing from his seat and moving around his desk. "I hear you both found out that you were each others Owl Pal?"

Liz and Harry exchanged a glance, worried that they were going to be punished. Should they deny knowing that they were each others Owl Pal?

"Yes, Sir, we know." Harry sighed. He knew that attempting to lie would never work with Dumbledore, as the headmaster somehow found out everything.

"I thought so," Dumbledore nodded. "You do realise that there were rules against trying to find out who your Owl Pal was?"

"Yes, Sir." they both replied.

"So you knowingly went against the rules to-"

"Sir, we didn't break any rules!" Liz interrupted. "We weren't allowed to say what house we were in and we didn't. We weren't allowed to say our real names and we didn't. Nor did we go around proclaiming our false names to everyone trying to find someone who recognised it."

"Yes, I know." Dumbledore said calmly. Liz frowned and glanced over at Harry, who simply shrugged.

"But Sir, if we didn't do anything wrong then..." Liz trailed off.

"I never said anything about punishing you, if that's what you were thinking." Dumbledore said. He reached behind him to his desk and picked up a small object which appeared to be a lolly wrapped in plastic. He slowly unwrapped it and then popped it in his mouth. "Eucalpytus drop?" he offered them.

"No thank you." Harry answered.

"No thank you." Liz imitated.

"Shame," Dumbledore murmured. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I would like to congratulate you, Miss Teppett, for thinking up such a brilliant way of finding out who your Owl Pal was without breaking any rules in the process."

Liz blinked.

"And Harry, I would like to congratulate you on having so much self control when you were first influenced by the love potion. I will be speaking to Miss Granger later to thank her for encouraging you to fight it as hard as you did." Dumbledore continued.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He still couldn't remember anything that had happened and that included his attempt at fighting the effects of the potion.

"I am therefore awarding ten points to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor." Dumbeldore concluded.

"Thank you Sir." Harry and Liz said together.

"You may go back to your class now." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Your Professor is aware that you have been with me."

Harry thanked Dumbledore again before he and Liz made their way to the door and left, going back down the staircase and making their way to their class, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Even if Snape knows we've been with Dumbledore, he'll probably deduct points." Harry said gloomily as they approached the classroom.

"Don't be so pessimistic!" Liz said, smiling and taking his hand. "Believe that he won't deduct points and he won't!"

"What?" Harry laughed.

"Good, you're happy again." Liz grinned, squeezing his hand before letting go of it to open the door to the Defence classroom. Snape looked over at them as they entered but didn't say anything as they found some seats.

"I told you so." Liz whispered as they sat. Harry grinned and nodded.

"Me of little faith."

They both chuckled quietly.


End file.
